Caterpillar (CAT) Competitors

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) and Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, risk and media sentiment.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of CAT or ASTE?

71.0% of Caterpillar shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.2% of Astec Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Caterpillar shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Astec Industries shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media prefer CAT or ASTE?

In the previous week, Caterpillar had 74 more articles in the media than Astec Industries. MarketBeat recorded 80 mentions for Caterpillar and 6 mentions for Astec Industries. Astec Industries' average media sentiment score of 1.70 beat Caterpillar's score of 0.90 indicating that Astec Industries is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Caterpillar	45 Very Positive mention(s)	10 Positive mention(s)	10 Neutral mention(s)	4 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Astec Industries	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Which has more risk and volatility, CAT or ASTE?

Caterpillar has a beta of 1.4, meaning that its stock price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Astec Industries has a beta of 1.43, meaning that its stock price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate CAT or ASTE?

Caterpillar presently has a consensus price target of $450.87, suggesting a potential upside of 4.60%. Astec Industries has a consensus price target of $41.00, suggesting a potential downside of 11.85%. Given Caterpillar's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Caterpillar is more favorable than Astec Industries.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Caterpillar	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.83
Astec Industries	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Is CAT or ASTE more profitable?

Caterpillar has a net margin of 14.95% compared to Astec Industries' net margin of 3.50%. Caterpillar's return on equity of 48.95% beat Astec Industries' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Caterpillar	14.95%	48.95%	10.60%
Astec Industries	3.50%	11.52%	7.07%

Is CAT or ASTE a better dividend stock?

Caterpillar pays an annual dividend of $6.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Astec Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar pays out 30.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Astec Industries pays out 26.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Caterpillar has raised its dividend for 30 consecutive years. Caterpillar is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has better earnings & valuation, CAT or ASTE?

Caterpillar has higher revenue and earnings than Astec Industries. Caterpillar is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Astec Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Caterpillar	$63.14B	3.20	$10.79B	$19.66	21.93
Astec Industries	$1.31B	0.81	$4.30M	$1.99	23.37

Summary

Caterpillar beats Astec Industries on 14 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.